Mobile ad hoc networks are essential in communication contexts that are dynamic and devoid of infrastructure. The usefulness of several different strategies put out in recent research is examined in detail in this work, with an emphasis on how well they enhance MANET scalability, security, and performance. The paper looks at innovations such blockchain-integrated routing, trust-based security frameworks, reinforcement learning-enhanced AODV, hybrid deep learning models for attack detection, and Adaptive fuzzy-based cross-layer AODV (CLAF-AODV). The results address the trade-offs in computational complexity and overhead while highlighting important performance indicators including as throughput, latency, energy economy, and packet delivery ratio (PDR). Furthermore, new strategies are investigated, including machine learning-driven attack prevention, security designs based on Software Defined Networks (SDN), and cryptographic improvements like Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC). Enhancing real-time speed, scalability, and security in resource-constrained MANET systems is one area of future research.